Headers for agricultural harvesters, such as combines, that harvest crops assume a variety of configurations depending on the crop being harvested. Regardless of the crop, however, the headers include devices for conveying harvested crop to a feederhouse where the crop undergoes additional processing. One of these devices is a harvesting reel, such as a pickup reel, a draper reel or a gathering reel, which has a plurality of tines arranged around its circumference. When the harvesting reel is engaged, the harvesting reel rotates and transports cut crop to the feederhouse.
The traditional design for a harvesting reel is limited to a basic circular path that engages the crop at a point close to a cutting mechanism of the agricultural harvester. The reel position is generally acceptable for tall and loose crop but lacks performance if the crop is lodged or short. In lodged crop, the reel needs to be close to the ground and out in front of the cutting mechanism, such as a sickle, to pick up the crop whereby the sickle can cut it off. However, the harvesting reel must also be in a suitable position to be able to move the crop into the feederhouse. In traditional harvesting reel designs, the swept path of the harvesting reel is not large enough or flat enough to accomplish both of these tasks. Therefore, in the traditional design, either the cut crop is not picked up off the ground or the crop is not fed evenly into the header and thereby results in lost crop.
Thus, what is desired is a header that is adjustable such that it can be used to collect crops under varying conditions without need to use a new header specifically designed for that condition. When the disclosed exemplary embodiments are used in combination with an agricultural harvester, the exemplary embodiments overcome one or more of the disadvantages referenced above by providing a conveyor assembly that is both flexible and adjustable.